Greg Sankey expects 14 NCAA tournament bids for 'unicorn' SEC - ESPN

NASHVILLE, Tenn. — The SEC is on the cusp of college basketball history, as the league is poised to break the record for most NCAA tournament bids by a conference.

The question lingering over Selection Sunday: How many more bids will the SEC receive than the current record of 11, set by the Big East in 2011?

The SEC projects to have as many as 14 teams, and league commissioner Greg Sankey told ESPN on Friday night that number would be «justified,» considering how the league has performed this season.

«It's a unicorn league right now,» Sankey told ESPN. «We're not going to change our name, but we stand alone historically. And I think that'll be rewarded.»

Texas, which projects as the final team in the NCAA tournament in Joe Lundardi's latest Bracketology, would be the SEC's 14th team. The Longhorns could have given their chances a significant boost against No. 8 Tennessee on Friday, but they fell 83-72.

Vols coach Rick Barnes said afterward that there's «no doubt» that Texas (19-15) is an NCAA team.

«I think we should have 14 teams in the NCAA tournament,» Barnes said.

Strengthening the SEC's case for 14 NCAA bids includes a non-conference schedule that is statistically among the best in the history of the sport. That includes a 30-4 record against the ACC, a 14-2 record against the Big 12 and a 10-9 record against the Big Ten.

The SEC's overall winning percentage in non-conference play was .889, which led to a bubble team like Texas having seven Quad 1 wins.

Sankey didn't mention North Carolina by name, but he did appear to reference the Tar Heels' tournament profile of a 1-12 record in Quad 1 games.

«You got somebody that's got a nice NET (ranking), but one Quad 1 win. LSU has two Quad 1 wins for goodness sake,» Sankey